Nuisance Unexpected
by CatNinja0122
Summary: Hart has opened the front door to find some weird things on his cabin's front porch since he and Kite moved back to their old house in the woods,but he never expected to find a wounded Vetrix there, begging for help and then passing out. Mokuba and Seto Kaiba never expected Noah to go insane again. Will they be able to escape alive? WARNING: Character death. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitor

Nuisance Unexpected

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal.

"I'm totally gonna win this time, Yuma!" Hart said. His fingers were moving so fast on the controller, Yuma could swear he saw smoke coming off it. He re-focused his attention to the video game in front of him, ready to knock Hart down.

"Yeah, right!" Yuma hit the A button and X button hard to activate the secret move he had been building towards, which knocked his opponent clear off the screen, gaining him victory for the fifth time that night. "Ohhhhh!" he yelled. Hart laughed and put the controller down. "You're too good at this, Yuma."

"It's all in the fingers. Just because you hit the buttons quickly doesn't mean you're making progress." Yuma advised. Hart was listening closely. "You should really focus on a medium level of speed for head-to-head or regular play, Hart. Otherwise, you just get caught up in trying to be fast instead of defeating your enemy."

"But I see you going fast on this game all the time, Yuma!"

"Only on the boss levels so I can evade their attacks and strike easily!" Hart looked down at the controller in his hands, then back up at Yuma, their eyes meeting as the blue-haired boy nodded in understanding. "I get it. It helps you stay focused at medium." Yuma nodded his head. Hart finally understood what he'd been trying to say!

Kite walked in shortly after. He smiled as he watched his little brother and Yuma play the video game. Even though he would rather them just be watching TV, he didn't care this time, and was just glad that Hart was happy. That was all he ever truly wanted since they'd moved back into their old house and regained some of Hart's memories, such as his love for hot chocolate and butterflies. Kite's smile grew even larger when he heard Hart laugh.

"Do you wanna try Level 7 now, or do you wanna wait?" Hart asked. Yuma thought for a moment, then said, "Nah, I wanna wait for a while. My fingers kinda hurt." Hart nodded and looked up at Kite, a smile playing on his face.

Yuma stood up, stretching and picking his backpack up, heading for the front door. Hart's smile faded quickly as he watched his friend prepare to leave. He got up and stopped Yuma by pulling on his vest. "Where are you going? You said you were staying the night!" Hart said.

"I know." Yuma said. "But I told Kari I would meet her at home at 10:00 to see if she needs me to get a scoop for her. You know reporters. After that, I'll come back, I swear." Hart was still clinging to the vest slightly, then finally let go. "Okay. When will you be back?" he asked.

"Dunno. If Kari doesn't need anything, I'll be back in about 45 minutes. If she does need something, however, I don't know when I'll be back, but I know I will be." Yuma said, petting Hart's hair. Hart glared and threw his arms up, swatting at Yuma's hands. "I told you not to pet my hair!" he whined. By then, Yuma was already out the door, waving. Hart waved back before closing the door and returning to his spot on the couch.

About 2 hours later...

Hart was still sitting on the couch, watching the Pokemon marathon that was on. He had quickly grown board of the video game he had been playing earlier. It just wasn't that fun without Yuma there to be his competition. 2 hours had passed since Yuma left, so Hart guessed Kari needed him for something after all. Oh well, he knew he'd be back at some time or another.

"I wish Kari hadn't needed Yuma for another scoop." Hart muttered. Normally, he would've just gone to spend time with Kite, but his brother was on the phone with one of the insurance agency's, and he couldn't be bothered at the moment. Hart tried looking on the bright side of things. Well, he still had Pokemon, but that was about it. He slumped on the couch and watched intently, trying to forget about Yuma. Slowly, it began to work.

There was sudden knocking at the door. Hart ignored it at first, trying to process whether or not he'd actually heard anything or not. It wasn't until he heard the same knocking again did he take notice, but he still didn't get up to answer it. That was Kite's rule unless he said otherwise.

"Hart, would you get the door?" Kite yelled from one of the other rooms shortly after a third knocking session. Hart got up and followed his older brother's command. "Yes, Kite." he yelled back. The blue-haired boy slowly unlocked the door and opened it, then gasped and nearly screamed at who he saw on the other side. Vetrix stood there, his cloths torn to shreds, bleeding and soaking wet.

"Please... p-please help m-me." Vetrix stammered before passing out and falling into Hart's arms.


	2. Chapter 2: The Truth Revealed

Nuisance Unexpected

Hart stood there, Vetrix in his arms and completely limp, but thankfully still breathing. It was so random, and... unexpected. The blue-haired boy just stared, wide-eyed and terrified, when Yuma came walking down the driveway, whistling. As soon as he looked up, he gasped and ran right to where the two boys were.

"H-Hart... what the _heck _happened while I was gone?" Yuma asked, suddenly very concerned.

"I... I was watching TV, okay? And, I heard knocking at the door, but I ignored it because Kite doesn't want me opening it. I heard it again, but I ignored it again, too. But after the third time, Kite told me to answer it, so I did, and Vetrix was standing their, begging for help!" Hart explained.

"Did he tell you what was wrong?"

"No, he passed out before I could ask." Hart glanced down at Vetrix. His pants looked more like cut-offs instead, and his shirt had many holes and slashes in it. The left sleeve was almost completely gone, and one slash ran down the whole arm, blood still emitting from it. He was soaking wet, still dripping at that. The most noticeable thing, however, was the fact Vetrix didn't have his mask.

Yuma ran a hand through his hair, making a strange _mff _sound as he did. He had no clue what to do. Hart seemed to have other ideas, though. He somehow managed to gain the strength to pick Vetrix up bridal-style, then carried him to the couch, setting him down on it. Yuma followed and grabbed one of the blankets, draping it over Vetrix's shivering body. Both Yuma and Hart backed up a few paces, staring at the injured blond.

"What're we gonna do, Yuma?" Hart asked. "If Kite finds out, he's gonna _**flip out**_!" Yuma shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure how they were gonna tell Kite.

"I don't know, Hart. We can't just hide him. That won't work. Maybe if we just come clean, he'll be... okay with it?" Yuma suggested. Hart looked up and glared at him. "That'd totally work if I were aiming for three years of being grounded." he muttered.

"Well, why don't you go make some hot cocoa or tea or something? I may be able to figure something out." Yuma said.

"Okay." Hart scampered off to get one of the cups down, then grabbed a tea bag and got busy with it. He filled the cup with water and dropped the tea bag in it, then set the cup in the microwave. While it was heating up, Hart peeked in Kite's room. He was still on the phone, filling out some paperwork while speaking. Hart was safe, for now.

Meanwhile, in the living room sat Yuma, watching Vetrix closely. As much as he didn't like him, he actually felt bad for him. Yuma kept his gaze on the blond the whole time, his chest rising and falling somewhat quickly.

_I wonder what could've happened to him? It's just not like Vetrix to be hurt like this..._ Yuma thought. _And Hart's right, Kite will flip out, whether we hide it from him or not. I guess the only thing we can do is come clean._

Hart came in shortly after, a large cup of tea in his hands. He set it on the table, then sat next to Yuma and watched Vetrix with him. They were becoming worried he might not wake up.

And that's when Kite walked into the room. Hart let out a small shriek, Yuma let out a whimper, and Kite just stood there, bewildered by their strange actions. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Hart? Yuma? _What_ are you two hiding?"

Hart's eyes grew wide and his pupils got tiny. He smiled and laughed nervously.

"W-What? Me hide something from you? B-B-Brother, don't be r-ridiculous!" Hart stammered. Kite narrowed his eyes. "Don't play dumb, Hart. I know you're hiding _something._ I just don't know what." His blue eyes scanned the room as he was speaking, then fell onto the couch. "So, it's on the couch, is it?" As Kite began trying to make his way to the couch, Hart jumped in front of him and put his arms out on the sides.

"There's nothing on the couch."

"Then you wouldn't mind moving."

"Actually, yes, I would."

"You're hiding something, I can tell."

"N-no, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Now, move out of the way, kiddo." Kite had become slightly annoyed by his brother's secrecy. He gently shoved him to the side, but Yuma grabbed his shirt and said, "Okay, yeah, you're right. We're hiding something, but for a good reason."

"Why can't I see?" Kite asked.

"Well..." Despite Hart's waving arms and mouthing the word "no", Yuma let go of Kite's shirt so he could go see what all the fuss was about. He nearly spazzed when he saw Vetrix laying on his couch. Kite turned and faced Hart, anger flashing in his eyes as he spoke.

"What part of 'Don't open the door' do you not understand?"

"You told me to!"

"Well you should've told me it was _him_!"

"How was I supposed to know? It's not like we have a peep hole like back at the Heartland Tower!"

"We have a window!"

"That doesn't mean I have the common sense to look out it!"

"Well, you know what, Hart?"

"What?"

"You've broken the most important rule in this house. I'm sorry Hart, but you're grounded for three months." Kite was very serious about it when he said this. Hart stood there, eye twitching and mouth closing and opening, almost as if he were trying to talk and no words would come.

_Three months? I'm grounded for __**three months**__?_

"Grounded for thr... Kite! You can't so that!" Hart wailed.

"I'm technically your legal guardian, so I can ground you for this." Kite retorted. He stalked off, Hart trailing right behind. Yuma could hear them arguing again in the distance. He picked up the video game controller and began playing in regular mode to take his mind off their sibling argument.

That only worked for about five minutes. Kite and Hart returned shortly after Yuma began playing, and their bickering was now six times worse.

"Well, it's not fair to ground somebody for wanting to help another! It's mean and unnecessary, brother!" Hart whined.

"Life's unfair, kiddo. Now, go to you're room. You're grounded, remember?" Kite said, walking off. He completely ignored Hart's arguing and stalked off to his room, leaving Hart to trudge to his and Yuma to be upset. Hart had a point. Just because he was trying to help Vetrix didn't mean Kite had to throw him into Hell and back as a punishment. Kite had returned not moments after.

"You really shouldn't ground Hart. He's just trying to be helpful." Yuma said, eyes refusing to meet Kite's.

"He shouldn't have let Vetrix in." Kite retorted. "He knows how I feel about him."

"Well, maybe if you'd just give Vetrix another chance, you would realize he's actually changed! He actually regrets the things he did to you guys!"

"Pff. Yeah right."

"Yeah, right! He's changed!" Yuma thwacked the buttons before pausing the game and staring at Kite. "It's no wonder Hart keeps saying you and him have grown farther apart." He unpaused the game and continued playing. Kite, however, was shocked.

"What do you mean 'he and I have grown farther apart'?" Kite asked.

"I mean what I said, Kite. That's what Hart keeps telling me. You wanna get an answer, you can ask Hart, but I seriously suggest you unground him." Yuma continued hitting the buttons as Kite got up to go to Hart's room.

In Hart's Room...

Hart stood at his window, his fingertips on the glass as he watched the butterflies outside. They flew around in circles, some of them came near the window, but none of them stopped for flowers. Hart guessed they were either not hungry or were in a hurry to get somewhere.

There was knocking on Hart's door. He sighed and cracked it open, staring straight at Kite. "I suppose you wanna ground me for doing what I'm told again, huh?" he asked.

"No, Hart. I'm ungrounding you." Kite said. Hart's attention was officially grabbed as he opened the door a little wider.

"You mean it, Kite? I'm ungrounded?"

"Yeah... Yuma had a good point. Just because I still don't trust Vetrix and don't want to help him doesn't mean you don't. I'm sorry little brother. I should've been more understanding about it... and I don't want to grow farther apart from you. I want to come closer." Kite held his arms out. Hart smiled and jumped into his brother's arms. "Me too, Kite. Me too."

Suddenly, Yuma came running into the room, jumping up an down happily. "You guys! You guys! Get your butts in the living room!" As quickly as he'd come, Yuma dashed out of the room and back to the living room. Hart and Kite looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders and followed the hyper boy.

"What is it, Yuma?" Kite asked.

"Yeah, what are you bugging about?" Hart joined in, then gasped at what he saw. Vetrix was awake and up 'till now had been watching TV with Yuma, but had currently redirected his attention to the Tenjo brothers.

"Guys, you aren't gonna believe who did this to Vetrix!" Yuma said.

"Then spit it out if you really want to shock us." Kite rolled his eyes as he said this. Hart just chuckled and looked Yuma in the eye as he stood up.

And Yuma couldn't have been more right when he said they wouldn't believe it. Their eyes widened and their mouths dropped ten stories down as Yuma said, "Noah Kaiba did it."


	3. Chapter 3: Captured

Nuisance Unexpected

Mokuba stood against the door, tapping his foot anxiously. Noah had been gone for hours now, and even Seto, who didn't normally get concerned about his step brother, was peering out the window of the Kaiba Mansion, wondering when Noah would be back.

"Where is he?" Mokuba asked for the fifth time in a row. Seto rolled his eyes and said, "Mokuba, I don't know. He won't answer his cell." The raven-haired boy whacked his head against the door and sighed. Noah was never gone for this long for anything. What could possibly be keeping him?

Somewhere in Domino underground...

Noah cracked his knuckles and wiped the fresh blood off his knife. He inhaled deeply, then let out an evil laugh. His plan to rule Kaiba Corp. was coming together perfectly. All he had to do now was get Seto, Mokuba, Kite and Hart to his little Digital World, and he'd be one step closer.

"Alright. All I have to do is type in a few codes, push a few buttons, and everything will fall into play." Noah growled and began typing. His fingers flew across the keyboard at a speed that could only be matched by Seto as multiple codes and hash tags appeared on the screen. Suddenly, the codes all disappeared. Noah reached for the control and enter buttons on his keyboard, then smirked and held them both down. The entire screen went blank for a moment, then exploded into a beam of light. Noah let out an evil laugh again.

"Finally. The time has come. Go, find my brothers. Bring them and the Tenjo brothers to me, and don't come back until you have them." Noah ordered the beam of light. It broke into four different beams, then rolled up into balls that flew off to find their targets.

Meanwhile, back at Heartland...

Hart came scampering back with the same cup of tea. Said tea had become cold in that 35 minute time period, and Hart had gone to heat it up. Once he got back to the living room, he handed the cup to Vetrix and sat beside him, rubbing his back. Vetrix took a cautious sip before turning to Hart with a half smile and whispering, "Thanks, Hart." Hart smiled back. "No problem."

"So, what _exactly_ happened to you?" Yuma asked. He hadn't been able to get the whole story earlier, so he decided to wait until Vetrix was calmer, which is what he did.

"I...I-I don't know where to start... Well, Trey and I were sitting on the couch, watching TV, yeah, let's start there. And all of a sudden, the power went out like _boom_, out. Trey got up to find a flashlight, but stopped when he and I saw a single light flicker on in the kitchen. In there stood a green-haired boy around Yuma's age with a knife in his hand."

"Noah Kaiba, right?" Kite asked.

"Mmm hmm, but at the time, I didn't know." Vetrix paused to take a sip of tea, then just stared straight down at the cup in his hands. "Anyway, I told Trey to run, and he did, leaving just Noah and I in the kitchen. Neither of us moved for a while, but he soon lunged at me and started tearing my cloths up with the knife. After that, he stabbed my left arm and pulled the knife down it by quite a lot."

"Wait, where were Quattro and Quinton during all this?" Yuma asked.

"I'm getting to that!" Vetrix said. "I managed to get outside, but Noah followed and caught me, then tried drowning me in that pond in the backyard. That's when Quattro and Quinton showed up with Trey. They pulled Noah off me and got into a scuffle with him. I was going to try to help, but they insisted I leave. So I did."

"And that's when you were on the porch, right?" Hart asked.

"Yup." Vetrix took one more long sip of tea and put the empty cup down, staring at the floor.

"But, why?" Kite asked. All eyes fell on the Number Hunter in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Yuma asked.

"I mean, why would Noah Kaiba, stepbrother of the millionaires Seto and Mokuba Kaiba, want to do something as stupid as this? It just doesn't add up!" Everyone else, especially Vetrix, agreed. It didn't make sense for Noah to do something like that, but he did.

Back in Domino...

Mokuba slammed his head against the door again. Seto looked up from his laptop and shook his head, smirking. "Kiddo, you should be a little more careful. You could give yourself brain damage from all that thumping." he said.

"Ha ha, very funny, Seto." Mokuba played into it and rolled his eyes. He peeked out the window again. No sign of Noah, and ten hours had passed. The raven-haired boy crossed his arms and whacked his head against the door again. Seto sighed and returned his attention to the laptop screen. "Why don't you sit down and watch TV for a while? He isn't going to show anytime soon, and you've been standing at that door for ten straight hours. You should take it easy." Mokuba sighed and walked over, sitting on the couch.

Suddenly, two orbs flew in and grabbed Mokuba and Seto, then disappeared into the air.

Heartland City...

The four of them just sat there in silence. A bright light suddenly emerged in front of them, changing into two orbs. Vetrix's eye grew wide in terror.

"Oh no! Guys, this must be Noah's doing! Run! Hide! Get out of here!" Vetrix stood and waved his arms. Hart let out a scream and ran into the kitchen. Kite followed and hid with him, but the orbs found them anyway. Yuma had run in to find the Tenjo brothers being lifted slowly from the ground. The pink and black-haired boy latched onto Hart's ankle and was swept away with the others. Vetrix just stood there in shock.

Somewhere in Noah's Digital World...

Yuma, Kite and Hart landed with a thud on the ground. They looked around, then nearly fainted when they saw the Kaiba brothers there, just as dizzy and confused as the Tenjo brothers and Yuma.

Suddenly, there was hysterical laughter. Everyone looked up and gasped when they saw Noah.

"Welcome to your deaths, captives." Noah growled.


	4. Chapter 4: WelcomeTo The Party Not

Nuisance Unexpected

Everyone looked up in terror as Noah jumped down from the digital balcony and approached them, an evil smirk on his face.

"What the _nuts_, Noah?!" Mokuba yelled.

"What do you mean?" Noah asked. "All I want is official control over Kaiba Corp. Once I have that, I can let you all go!"

Seto scowled in anger. "If you think I'm handing over my spot in Kaiba Corp., you're sorely mistaken!"he growled. Noah just chuckled.

"I'm giving you one last chance."

"No way!"

"Fine, have it your way." Noah simply flipped a switch and the whole atmosphere transformed into a desert. The heat began beating down on the five of them. Mokuba and Hart rolled their sleeves up while Seto and Kite took off their coats.

"Okay, I get why Seto and Mokuba are here but... why are we?" Yuma asked. Noah widened his eyes. _Oh no! How did a fifth person get in here? Well, no matter, I have a backup plan for just such an emergency._ Noah flipped the switch again. The desert blinked away, and in it's place, a medieval castle. Kite and Seto slipped their coats back on, Mokuba and Hart slid their sleeves back down.

"What up with the constant background change, Noah?" Kite asked. Noah just let out a laugh. "Well, I was originally gonna see who could go the longest in the desert heat, but then I saw the extra. So I switched to my backup plan." The green-haired Kaiba snapped his fingers. Yuma let out a scream of pain as he was taken off his feet by a beam of electricity, then dropped into a cage that was dangling over a boiling lava pit.

"Yuma!" Hart yelled. He tried to jump on the cage so he could unlatch it, but got shocked and toppled from the cage. Hart hit the ground with a groan. Kite rushed up to his brother's side and lifted him, studying him. He was knocked out, but otherwise fine. Mokuba's mouth dropped 8 stories down. How could Noah do this?!

_What the heck happened to my stepbrother? I thought we'd finally convinced him to be good!_ Mokuba thought. He stared up at Noah, a look of complete terror on his face. When Noah noticed, he simply laughed and stared back.

"Oh, Mokie, you can't truly convince anyone to be good. You can teach them all you want, but that doesn't mean they will listen." Noah said. Mokuba's eyes grew wide.

_How did he know that? Can he... read my thoughts?_

"Duh, Mokie. Of course I can read your thoughts. In my Digital World, I can do anything I please!" Noah threw his arms up and laughed. He walked over to Mokuba and began stroking his hair the way he had when he had brainwashed the raven-haired boy, making him flinch and whimper. Seto growled and narrowed his eyes, pulling Mokuba back. Noah stopped suddenly and stared at his stepbrother's blue eyes. He smirked and backed up a few paces before disappearing into the castle.

"What do we do now?" Mokuba asked.

"I guess we should go in." Hart replied, taking the lead. Kite looked back at Seto and Mokuba before following, and the Kaiba brothers hesitantly went after him.

In the castle...

Hart opened the door slowly, and it made a _squeak _sound as it opened. He shivered and sneezed before walking in and looking around. Kite ran in and started looking around for any sign of Noah. He wanted to take the green-haired freak down himself. Mokuba and Seto came running in shortly after.

"Alright, where's Noah? I wanna pummel him!" Mokuba yelled. He balled his hands into fists and started looking around, but shortly after felt a small but firm grip on his shoulder. The raven-haired boy whirled around, his gray eyes staring into Hart's amber ones. "I think we need to find him before we can do that." Hart smiled gingerly and giggled. Mokuba smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess so." Mokuba looked down at his hand and stuck it out with a gesture. Hart grabbed it and shook it. Both boys smiled as they introduced themselves to one another. "I'm Mokuba Kaiba." Mokuba said.

"Hart Tenjo." Hart replied. The two of them continued looking for Noah while their brothers introduced each other. Seto and Kite seemed to get along well. They soon joined their brothers, searching every corner for the green-haired Kaiba.

Meanwhile, back at the cabin...

Vetrix was looking everywhere for an open plug. He didn't understand how each and every outlet could occupy an electronic. After all, this was a pretty small cabin, one with only the ground floor and a basement. How could there be _that many _outlets?

"Oh, c'mon! There has to be an open one _somewhere_!" Vetrix moved a few boxes, peeked behind a few electronics, and somehow finally found one next to the microwave. "Ah ha! Perfect!" The blond took the laptop off the couch and plugged the charger into the wall. A small ding sound erupted from it to confirm it was charging.

_Alright. Let's just see if I can hack that Digital World or not._ Vetrix began typing away at Noah's laptop, which he had managed to steal and hide under his shirt before escaping through the portal. He hadn't told Hart, Kite or Yuma about this. The white screen turned black as multiple codes began appearing on it in different colors. Vetrix had found the codes he needed to type in earlier and had written them down on a piece of paper. These would access the Digital World, and by holding the tab and escape buttons down in the end, he should be able to kill the Digital World, therefor freeing the captives of it.

_This is working __**so**__ much better than I thought it would!_ Vetrix thought as the last code disappeared. All he had to do now was hold those two keys down and he'd free everyone. As he reached for the buttons, a portal opened behind him. The blond whirled around to see Trey emerge from it, a worried look on his face.

"Trey? What are you doing here?" Vetrix asked, studying his son's expression.

"I came to see what you're doing, dad." Trey walked up and stared at the blank computer screen. He already knew what Vetrix was doing, but he was hoping he could stop it before it was too late. _Looks like I just barely made it._ Trey thought.

Vetrix simply smiled. "I'm gonna get the Tenjo brothers and Yuma out of Noah Kaiba's freaky Digital World!" Trey shook his head. "You can't break them free that easily, especially since Seto and Mokuba Kaiba are there, too." Vetrix widened his eyes. He hadn't realized the Kaiba brothers were there, as well.

"What do you mean I can't break them free easily? I have all the codes right here!"

"Don't hold down those last keys. They won't set them free, they'll..." It was too late. Trey couldn't finish his sentence before Vetrix hit the two buttons, then was drawn into the Digital World Noah had built. "...trap you in it with them."


	5. Chapter 5: Something's Brewin'

Nuisance Unexpected

Vetrix nearly lost his footing as he was thrust into Noah's Digital World. His eye must've done a 360 twice before he regained his sight and looked about. Right in front of him stood a large medieval castle that looked as though it could use some remodeling and dusting.

_That's it. They're in there. They just have to be! _Vetrix ran up to the door and creaked it open slowly. He couched and sneezed quietly from the sudden dust intake and walked in, not noticing the door sliding backwards with a great force. It slammed against the frame, making the blond jump and nearly shriek from the noise that echoed off the stone walls.

"Oh, I hope no one heard that." Vetrix muttered. "Now, where could they be?" He began looking around for any sign of life. The whole area appeared to be desolate. There was suddenly a voice in the distance. A small one that Vetrix guessed belonged to either Mokuba or Hart. He could faintly hear more in the distance, so that's where he went.

Vetrix peeked around a corner to see everyone there. Hart and Mokuba were back-to-back, looking around for Noah. Seto and Kite were on a different page. Kite was looking from the sky with the backup glider he had in case something ever came up and he didn't have Orbital, while Seto was actually opening doors and looking around corners. The blond walked up to where Hart and Mokuba stood. Mokuba was the first of the group to notice.

"Who's that?" Mokuba asked. All eyes fell on Vetrix. Hart nearly shrieked as he ran up to the blond and gave him a hug. "Vetrix! H-How did you get here?" he asked, pulling away from his friend.

"I don't know. I was trying to hack Noah's Digital World, and next thing I know, I'm _in _his Digital World!" Vetrix replied. Soon, he began looking around curiously. "Eh, where's Yuma?"

"Above that pit of lava." Kite pointed up to the cage. Yuma was still unconscious as he hung over the pit. Vetrix was about to jump up as Hart had, but the blue-haired boy stopped him and shook his head "no". "Don't try that. I just woke up from its impact." Hart said. Vetrix widened his eye and looked down with a sigh. "Then how are we supposed to get him free?"

"We don't know" Mokuba said. "I guess we just have to find the key to the cage."

"Well, who knows where that could be? Noah could've hidden it on the opposite side of this world, or right under our noses!" Kite put in.

"Perhaps he has it." Seto said, arms crossed. "He keeps anything precious or valuable of his with him at all costs."

Mokuba and Hart glanced back at each other before looking around again. Both boys were busy trying to get above the cage when laughter suddenly rang through the area. Everyone shot their heads up as Noah walked towards them, tossing a silver-colored key up and down slowly.

"Well, I see everyone has assembled. And how cute, you even tried to escape already!" Noah snickered and continued tossing the key up and down, then promptly dangled it from his finger with a piece of string. "Oh, and if you want to get this key, free Yuma, and get out of here _alive,_ then I suggest you do as I say."

Hart scowled and made a strange growling noise deep in his throat. Vetrix kept staring right at Noah, shaking slightly from fear of the past. When Noah noticed, he widened his eyes and just about fell over. "Oh, come on! How many more people can _possibly _come into my Digital World?!" Noah barked. He took a closer look at Vetrix, then chuckled. "Wait a second... you're the guy I just about killed back in between dimensions! This is rich! Just the kind of twist I had been hoping for!"

"Hey, you leave Vetrix alone! He didn't do anything to you!" Hart yelled. That just gained another laugh from the green-haired Kaiba; and started an argument between the two boys.

"Pff, Hart, you honestly don't understand it, do you? You've all done something just by being here!"

"But you brought us here! That wasn't our fault!"

"...Touche. However, you are all here for various reasons, but I only have use for the main ones of each of you."

"Which would be...?"

"Kite's Number Cards, your Barian-like powers, Mokuba's knowledge of technology, and Seto's role in Kaiba Corp.!" Noah simply chuckled and began spinning the key around his finger.

"M-My powers?!" Hart stammered, eyes wide and trembling greatly. Kite noticed and scowled, then dashed to his brother's side. He grabbed Hart's shoulders and held on somewhat tightly, then looked up at Noah and glared. "You won't be touching my little brother psychopath!" he yelled. Noah simply laughed again.

"You guys are insane, thinking that I'd just let things like that slip. If I wanna use Hart's powers, I will, just like if I wanna use your Number Cards, _I can._ Deal with it" Hart winced and shook a bit before stammering out his question.

"W-Well, then I guess the o-o-only question I have le-left is why did y-you have to hurt Vetrix?"

"Who?...Oh, yes, the newest intruder. So, he is Vetrix? What an unexpected yet, pleasurable surprise! I suppose since I have an even number of six, I can do this." Noah snapped his fingers once again. The atmosphere didn't change this time, however. This time, two more electrical beams that were similar to the ones that had taken Yuma took Seto and Kite up, tossing them into two more separate cages above the lava pit, leaving only Hart, Mokuba and Vetrix to stare in shock.

"Okay, you guys can follow me now." The green-haired Kaiba spun the key around his finger again before motioning with it for the trio to follow them.

"We are _not _following you anywhere!" Vetrix retorted.

"Oh? Well, how about I drop everyone into the lava and be on my way? It's a privilege to still be currently alive, you know. Besides, Vetrix, I still have that knife." Noah smirked as he said this. Vetrix flinched and began following him down the hall, Hart and Mokuba right behind. They were soon left alone in a large, empty room.

"This is it? I was expecting a dragon or something." Mokuba questioned, eyebrow raised and looking about.

"Ooo! A dragon! Excellent idea, Mokie! _Way _better than that old plan I had before!" Noah emerged on a balcony and clapped his hands. A large, purple dragon emerged from the floor, then let out a howl of rage. Vetrix and Hart turned and glared at Mokuba. "You had to say _dragon_?" they asked. Mokuba smiled nervously and chuckled the same way.

"Hold on a second! That's Number 17, Leviathan Dragon! One of Kite's Cards!" Hart said, glancing back at Noah confusingly. "How'd you get it?"

"Duh. I took Kite's Deck as soon as he slipped into unconsciousness. See, most evil villains lock up the _younger _siblings. I like to twist it up though, and so, I made it more fun by locking the _older _siblings!" Noah explained. "I love being evil. Oh, I suppose you will need these." Three swords flew in front of the three boys, who grabbed them hesitantly.

"What are these for?" Mokuba asked.

"You need a weapon of some sort to fight a dragon!" Noah retorted.

"Why can't we just Duel it?" Hart asked, holding his Duel Gazer up.

"It's not nearly as bloody as a fight with swords. Besides, those Cards of yours will not work on my special field."

"Fantastic." Vetrix muttered. The three of them turned back wide-eyed as Leviathan Dragon howled again. Noah disappeared through a portal, leaving his captives to fight for the death.

Back in the cabin...

Trey's fingers flew across the keyboard as he input the codes again. Quattro and Quinton were right behind him, watching and making sure he was doing it correctly.

"You're sure dad got sucked into Noah's Digital World?" Quattro asked.

"Positive." Trey replied, not taking his eyes off the screen. "I saw it happen with my own eyes."

"I agree with Quattro." Quinton replied. "It sounds a little far-fetched, if you know what I mean."

"I am not joking, guys. I saw dad get pulled right into Noah Kaiba's world! From what he told me, Noah has his brothers, Kite, Hart, and Yuma captive, and I suppose you can count dad in that list now that he's there, too." Trey put one more code in before the screen turned black again. He reached for the control and escape buttons instead of the tab and control buttons, then held them down.

"Okay, the Crashbug Virus is working successfully. It should knock this world down and bring everyone back safely in a few minutes." Trey informed his brothers, turning to face them. They were wide-eyed. Trey raised an eyebrow before asking, "What's gotten into you two?"

"I think Noah stopped your virus." Quinton pointed to the screen as he said this. Trey whirled around, alarmed. His arms grew equally wide to his brother's as he saw the blank screen. "W-What? It wasn't successful? No way!" Trey hollered, running back and attempting to fix it. The laptop sparked and died, smoke arising from the charger sockets.

"Oh, yeah, that's _so_ gonna save them." Quattro said, rolling his eyes.

"Shut it." Trey growled. "There's only one thing left to do." Quinton raised an eyebrow. "And that would be...?"

"We gotta find another computer and go in there ourselves." Trey ran out the cabin door in the direction of Domino City, his brothers following right behind.

"Stop right there." The Arclight Brothers whirled around to see Shark. He had a gun in his hand. "I'm coming with you. Yuma's trapped, and he needs to be freed."

Trey glanced back at his brothers. He looked at Shark once more before saying, "Okay. The more help we have, the better." The four of them continued running in the direction of Domino when a bright light appeared in front of them. They stopped in their tracks, staring at it as Noah stepped out of it. "I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere." He said. Shark growled and held out his hand, pistol in it. "Move out of the way, Kaiba." he growled. Noah laughed hysterically. Trey slid past him, Shark right behind. Quattro tackled the green-haired Kaiba, Quinton jumping onto him with his brother.

"Get your hands off of me!" Noah yelled.

"Pff, what are you gonna do about it?" Quattro yelled.

"This." Noah pulled out a knife and leapt out of the two Arclight's grasp, then tackled Quattro to the ground. He lunged the knife into the violet-eyed boy's stomach, gaining a screech of pain from him. Noah growled and snickered, twisting the knife around inside Quattro until he was sure he was dead. Quinton had tried to escape, but Noah had tackled him to the dirt, as well.

"Tsk tsk tsk. You didn't think you could get away, did you?" Noah asked. He did the same to Quinton as he had to Quattro, leaving him to die from loss of blood. The green-haired Kaiba walked through the portal, cackling evilly as he did. "I suppose that's two less tyrants to worry about. Too bad Trey and Reginald got away... Oh, well, I can take them down whenever." The portal closed behind him, leaving Quattro and Quinton's lifeless bodies to be soaked in the current downpoor.


	6. Chapter 6: Food, Part 1

Nuisance Unexpected

Trey and Shark came crashing onto the floor, tangled up together and struggling to get away from each other.

"C'mon! Get off me, pink hair!" Shark yelled, fidgeting with his jacket sleeve.

"Stop squirming around!" Trey rolled over, forcing himself on top of Shark and jumping off of him. Shark sat up and shook his head wildly, looking at his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Noah's Digital World. Don't you remember? We fell through the portal."

"Don't remind me." A sudden howl emerged from behind Shark. Trey glanced up at Leviathan Dragon and went wide-eyed in fear. Shark whirled around and did the same thing. The large dragon howled again before falling to the ground, blood seeping to the floor.

_What in the world?_ Trey thought. He knew that didn't happen in Duels. It was only then that he and Shark noticed the three figures on top of Leviathan Dragon's motionless corpse. Hart, Mokuba and Vetrix were all smiling and laughing at their fallen enemy.

"In your face, Leviathan Dragon!" Hart yelled, throwing his sword into the air as he said this. It landed with a _clang _right next to Trey, who squeaked and jumped back a few paces. "Watch where you throw those things!" he yelled. The boys turned their attention to Trey and Shark, then slid off the dragon and ran right up to them.

"How'd you guys get here?" Hart asked.

"Noah left one of the portals open, and we jumped through it." Trey explained. Shark made a _pff _sound and blew a piece of hair out of his face. He was growing impatient.

Hart looked behind Trey and Shark, a look of question on his face. Vetrix was the first to notice. "What's wrong, Hart?" he asked.

"Where are Quattro and Quinton?" Hart asked, now pacing around behind the older boys. Trey whirled around. "I don't know. I thought they were right behind us!"

The whole area turned pitch black. Trey whimpered and took a step back, then whammed his head on something hard. Groaning, he turned to face whatever he'd just hit. When he couldn't see it do to the darkness, he let out a growl and started felling around for a light switch. Then he remembered: Castles didn't have light switches in medieval times. The pink-haired boy gave up and sat down on the ground.

Light, followed by laughter, soon returned to the area. Shark and Trey, who were so confused at this point, looked up in terror, while Hart, Mokuba and Vetrix looked up in a more calm way. They knew Noah had something else for them to do.

"So, you defeated the dragon, did you?" Noah asked, leaping down from one of the stair railings. "I guess you've seen Reginald and Trey now, so why don't we move on to the next task?"

"Where are Quattro and Quinton?" Vetrix questioned, sounding very concerned at the moment.

"Elsewhere" was all Noah had to say. Once everyone saw the knife with fresh blood on it, they knew what had happened to the older Arclights. Trey just about puked. Vetrix on the other hand, didn't do anything but stare. He wanted to do more than that, like yank that knife out of Noah's hand and attack him with it. But for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to, but his body wouldn't let him move; that left the blond to just stare.

_Dead? My brothers are... dead?_ Trey put his fingers to his mouth and chocked a bit, trying to hold back tears. Some dribbled down his face, but the rest stayed away as the youngest Arclight began to tremble.

"Oh, yes. They are dead. And do be afraid, young Trey. This same could happen to any of you. Wait, scratch that, any of you except my Mokie." Noah said, twirling the knife in his hand slowly, as if trying to decide what to do with the blood on it. "Unfortunately, your brothers put up a good fight. There's blood all over me. I must admit, they are strong, but once you get them down, they're weak. Like dragons..."

Hart trembled. He knew now what was going to happen. Noah would keep putting them through challenges, forcing them to either fail or accomplish each and every one of them... and one by one, they would all fall.

Back in the first room...

Yuma groaned and sat up, looking around. Kite and Seto were in two different cages beside him, so he guessed Noah had them held captive for a good reason. The pink and black-haired boy stood and examined the area, then let out a yelp when he saw the lava right under the three of them. He wondered how the bottom of the cage wasn't getting hot.

"Whoa, where'd Hart and Mokuba go? I remember them being in this room... then I got locked in this cage... now I'm clueless." Yuma whispered to himself. Kite, who hadn't been knocked out by the electric beam, glanced over at Yuma. He had his hands on the bars and was shaking them fiercely.

"Yuma? You're awake?" Kite asked, standing up from his sitting position. Yuma turned to Kite and smiled. He was glad that someone besides him was awake. "Kite! How'd you get in the cage?"

"Noah locked us in separate cages. Wait a minute... GAH! That little twerp stole my Duel Deck!" Kite growled and began shaking his cage bars. They didn't budge from their spot, but they sure made a lot of racket. The sound echoed off the walls, waking Seto from his unconscious state.

"Oh... sheesh, you can stop shaking the cage bars. They aren't gonna break." Seto said, rubbing his head. Kite stopped and fell down with a pouty sort of face that Yuma never thought he'd see on the Number Hunter.

"How do we get out of here?!" Yuma yelled.

"Noah has the key. Someone is gonna have to snatch it from him." Kite crossed his arms and sighed.

Back with everyone else...

Noah had issued another challenge for the five of them to do. Now they had to attempt to dive through a waterfall without drowning, which Hart and Mokuba found extremely difficult, especially since Noah had put their worst underwater fears in it.

"So, which of you is going first?" Noah asked. He smirked and poked Vetrix with a stick, urging him to be the first. The blond took a deep breath and dove right through it, then screeched when he got to the other side. Hart, out of curiosity and fear of what happened to his friend, dove through, dodging his fear: electric eels. He stared at Vetrix, who had a crab dangling from his good shirt sleeve.

"AHH! Get it off! GET IT OFF!" Vetrix wailed, shaking his arm up and down as fast as he could.

"Calm down. You're just gonna make it angrier." Hart grabbed Vetrix's arm and pulled the crab off, then tossed it to the side. "That better?" Vetrix nodded and whimpered. Hart giggled. Both boys let out a shriek when Trey came jumping through, a baby shark biting his hair.

"Aw, man! Get off!" Trey grabbed the shark and tossed it back in the water, just barely missing Shark as he came through, seaweed and clams dangling on him.

"And all over my jacket, too." Shark peeled the stuff off of himself, then shivered and sat down. Hart, being the only one in the group that actually got along with Shark, sat down by him. Mokuba came flying through shortly after, tumbling to the ground. He had an octopus tentacle in his hand.

"That's what happens when you make me frightened." Mokuba said. He threw the tentacle into the water and sat down beside Hart.

There was a sudden, low growling noise inside the chamber the five of them had fallen into. Shark's head shot up and he looked straight ahead. Vetrix and Trey shot their heads up and began looking around. Hart and Mokuba looked back at the purple-haired boy, who had blush on his cheeks.

"What was that?" Trey asked. All eyes soon fell on Shark, who was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke.

"It's my stomach. I'm really hungry. Ohhhh..." Shark moaned and put a hand on his stomach, making a whiny face as he did. Hart rolled his eyes. The Duelist was becoming more like Yuma every day. Everyone else snickered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can find something to eat." Hart said.

"Meh, I don't really care what. Though, I would prefer it to be something on my mind. Like, a taco or something like that." Shark whined. The boys broke out in laughter. That's when Noah entered behind them.

_Oh, great. I bet there's yet __**another**__ challenge we need to do_. Vetrix thought. Noah nodded when he heard that in the blond's thoughts.

"Correct, Vetrix. My new challenge involves food. There is a twist, though. You won't be getting food. You _are _the food."


	7. Chapter 7: Food, Part 2

Nuisance Unexpected

Hello all you people who are still reading up to this point. I forgot to mention that chapters 6-8 are a 3 chapter series called 'Food'. Just thought I'd say because I know some people will get a bit confused with it. Anyway, please don't forget to review and hopefully you'll continue reading...

"W-What did you just s-say?" Trey stuttered, emerald eyes shaking wildly as he stared at Noah.

"You four will be food for my little pet! Well, I suppose I shouldn't say _little_. He's quite large, actually." Noah responded in an annoyed tone. _It must be because we keep passing his challenges._ Shark thought.

Mokuba looked around dumbfounded. "There's five of us, Noah." he pointed out.

"Yes, there are." Noah looked Mokuba right in the eye. "I'm fully aware of that, Mokie."

"But... but you said _four._"

"Of course I did! I am certainly _not _prepared to let my sweet little Mokie become fish food! Never in a million years would I dream of it!" Vetrix peered up at Noah. "Fish food?" he asked. The green-haired Kaiba looked down at the blond from where he stood, then snapped his fingers. The whole atmosphere changed into an island that overlooked an ocean and was in a downpour. The group of five began quickly getting soaked.

"This is humiliating." Shark whined. His wet, purple hair hung like tight curtains in his face, and he did not enjoy it.

"I agree." Trey said, staring up at his soaked pink hair. "This is not going to brush out easily." Shark rolled his eyes. _Trey is such like a girl. _He thought. Hart ran for a palm tree and sat under it, Mokuba following right behind. The two boys shivered and stared up at the tree. It was to only one on the whole island.

_Strange._ Mokuba thought. _How come there's only one tree on this whole island? It certainly is large enough for more trees to be on it. Ah, sometimes I will just never understand my stepbrother._ The raven-haired boy stared at Hart for a moment, a look of question on his face. The blue-haired boy appeared to be lost in thought and didn't notice the pair of eyes on him. Mokuba wanted to know what the youngest of the group was thinking about, but he could guess it had something to do with Yuma, Kite and Seto being locked in their cages.

"Mokuba, do you ever wonder what Noah does in his free time?" Hart asked suddenly. Mokuba turned and met the amber-eyed boy's gaze as soon as he heard his name. "What do you mean?"

"You've said Noah has had a lot of free time lately and had been locking himself in his room."

"Uh-huh. What does that have to do with anything?"

"You've also said he is constantly on the computer in his room."

"Hart, is there a point to this conversation?"

"Well, I was just thinking... what if all those times your stepbrother was in his room, he was building this world? Plotting his revenge and setting up a plan? And then on one of those free time times he had, he activated it? That's what might've brought us here." Hart said, now staring at the dry sand at his feet. Mokuba felt like screaming. Hart was right. Noah had himself locked in his bedroom for two months on his free time. He had constantly been on his computer, frequently typing away. Mokuba had always thought he was trying to catch up on some of his missed work. He should've known it was mysterious when Noah wouldn't even let him in his room.

"...I never thought of that, Hart. You have a great point. To think, the whole two months Noah was doing _this._ I...I can't believe I never thought of that..." Mokuba said, plopping down in the small bit of dry sand left. Hart jumped down next to him, rubbing his back reassuringly. "Don't worry, I think I have a plan for getting out of here." This gained Mokuba's attention.

"Oh really? And what would it be?"

"Why don't you act like you wanna help Noah? If and once he thinks you're on his side, figure out a way to get the key and free everyone. Once that's done, we can probably escape because I know Noah will share his codes with you!"

Mokuba thought for a second. "That's an amazing plan! But, it could take a really long time to get those codes _and _the key. I may be able to get one or the other and do something, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Then just focus on getting the codes. If you can get the one that will free us, that oughta just automatically get everyone from the cages and back home!" Hart said, smiling brightly. Mokuba smiled. "Hart Tenjo, you are a genius. How old are you?"

Hart tilted his head to the side. "I'm eight. Why?" he asked.

"Just curious is all." Mokuba said. He was amazed that an eight-year-old had come up with such a brilliant plan.

"Don't tell anyone else, though." Hart warned. Mokuba looked confused. "I know that one person, any of them, could get freaked out and just blurt it. Don't tell another living soul on this island."

Mokuba nodded in understanding. "Now, I'm gonna act like this isn't a plan. Just go with it." Hart said. Mokuba nodded again. He and Hart stood and looked each other in the eye before Mokuba began walking away. Hands in pockets, the raven-haired boy walked past everyone else. Shark watched him intently.

"Mokuba? Where are you going?" Shark asked, shaking his head like a puppy to try and dry off a bit.

"Away." was all the boy said.

"No! Mokuba! You can't go! It's not worth it!" Hart instantly got into character, running up like he would if this were just randomly happening. Mokuba, who fell into it properly, looked back dryly as Hart grabbed his wrist in an attempt to stop him. "You can't go help Noah! Think of what could happen if _both _of you were torturing us!" Hart wailed. He had even managed to pull off a few tears.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this, Hart. You and everyone else are great people, but I can't stand to allow Noah to do this alone." Mokuba said, shrugging his shoulders. Hart only held on tighter.

"But what about Seto? You know you don't wanna help if it means hurting your own brother!"

Mokuba winked before saying, "I'm done with him. I want nothing more to do with him." Even though Hart knew his friend was just acting, he was taken aback by his words. Never, even if not truly meant, did he think he'd hear Mokuba say he wanted nothing more to do with his older brother. The rest of the group stared in shock.

"What? Did I hear him correctly?" Vetrix asked, a stunned look on his face.

"Mokuba wants nothing to do with Seto anymore?" Trey's voice was shaky.

"No way. No way Mokuba wants nothing to do with his brother." Shark was almost flashing with anger. He thought Noah had something to do with this.

"I know it must be hard to believe..." Mokuba began. "..But I've been thinking for a while now. And I realized something. Seto stole Noah's role in Kaiba Corp. He deserves to get it back, even if he's gotta kill more people for it. I'm sorry guys, but I'm officially siding with my real brother." The raven-haired boy took Hart's hand off his wrist gently and allowed it to fall to his side. Hart was amazed at how successful that had been.

And with that, Mokuba continued on his way.

Somewhere in a safe-ish part of the Digital World...

Noah began staring at the computer screens in front of him. Two were active on his captives, the other at the door of the room he was in. He knew someone would eventually venture into the cave and find the door, but he nearly fell out of the chair when he saw it was Mokuba.

"Noah? Are you in there?" Mokuba called, acting flawlessly. Noah wasn't sure what was going on. Since his cameras didn't have sound, he couldn't hear their plan, but he could still hear any thoughts that crossed their mind. Mokuba was thankful none involving the plan crossed his as he knocked on the door again. It finally creaked open slowly.

"Mokie? What are you doing here?" Noah asked, poking his head out the door and meeting eye-to-eye with his stepbrother.

"Noah, I've been thinking. You were right all along."

"About what?"

"About Seto taking your rightful role in Kaiba Corp. You deserve to get it back, and I wanna help." Noah could hardly believe his ears.

"You really want to help?"

"Yes."

He was silent for a while. Finally, Noah opened the door all the way. "Well, if you've made up you're mind... then come on in." Mokuba stepped in and looked around. The room was filled with shiny, static-corrupted screens with cables all over the place. It reminded him of a horror movie he had watched a few years ago.

"So, what can I do first?" Mokuba asked, standing by Noah's chair.

"Hmm.. I suppose you can prove you wanna help by hitting that button over there." Noah pointed to a large, blue button on the other side of the room.

"Okay. Just asking, but what does it do?"

"It releases a random Fish-Type Monster from Reginald's Deck to attack them."

"When did you take Shark's Deck?"

"Oh, not too long ago. If you want the total time, five minutes ago. Would you please hit the button, Mokie? It's becoming boring to just watch them stand there."

Mokuba hesitated. He didn't want to hurt his friends, but he didn't want to leave without first fully gaining Noah's trust and getting those codes. He took a deep breath and pushed the button. A few of the machines lit up and began buzzing, and soon, he felt the ground shake. When he looked on the screen, Mokuba gasped. Big Jaws had been released and was rampaging on his friends.

Back on shore...

Trey and Hart had managed to scramble to the top of the lone tree on the island. The watched in horror as Shark and Vetrix attempted to attack Big Jaws before it could do vice versa on them. The large fish roared as the pelted it with coconuts Hart and Trey had knocked down while climbing in the tree. (One of those coconuts had hit Trey right in the head, much to his dismay.)

"Man, how'd he even get Big Jaws! It's one of my cards!" Shark yelled, chucking a coconut as he did. It conked Big Jaws right on the head, causing him to retreat to the water for a few moments before splashing back up in a fit of rage.

"I think Noah stole your Deck. He took mine and Trey's, too. Who knows what he'll do with them?" Vetrix asked, throwing one of the coconuts. It hit the Fish Monster the same place the previous one had, making it repeat its routine of hide and appear.

"He'll do stuff like this!" Shark yelled. He tossed the last coconuts in his arms one by one. The first two missed, leaving only three left. The last of them all hit Big Jaws right in the face. With a roar, the monster toppled into the ocean and did not come back up. Vetrix dropped his coconuts and inhaled deeply. "Glad that's all finally over." he said.

"Me too." Shark plopped down in the sand, which was still wet. It wasn't like he cared, though. The Fish Duelist was soaking wet and his cloths were filthy. What was a little more dirt gonna do? As he said this, Trey and Hart slid down the tree stalk, observing the ocean waves.

"Is it over? Did it stop?" Hart asked, staring idly at the calm waves.

"I think so.." Vetrix replied while copying the blue-haired boy's actions. They both sat down and just stared at the blue ocean in front of them. The waves began to rock slightly, but since no one saw anything unusual they payed no mind to it.

Trey suddenly regretted not paying as close attention as he usually did with stuff. The slight rocking turned into violent thrashing as Big Jaws jumped up and roared again. Vetrix and Hart reacted so quickly that it was hard to believe they were already in the tree. Shark had begun to join them, but stopped suddenly when he saw that Trey wasn't with them.

"Trey! Come on!" Shark called. Trey just stood there, staring wide-eyed as Big Jaws began to lunge toward him. "Trey!" Shark yelled, trying to get to a coconut to trow at the Fish-Type Monster. He wasn't fast enough. Big Jaws jumped behind Trey and whacked him into the water, then plunged in after the pinkette. Everyone just stared in shock.

Another member of the group was gone.


	8. Chapter 8: Food, Part 3

Nuisance Unexpected

Vetrix moved the tree leaf and stared in shock. Had he really seen what he thought he had? The blond shook his head vigorously, blinked a few times and let the leaf drop along with his heart.

_No. No, Trey can't be dead, too. It was just a mirage. A hallucination. A __**nightmare.**_ Vetrix thought, continuing to stare at the direction the incident had taken place, even though he couldn't see anything but green.Hart looked at him, confused and devastated. He couldn't imagine the pain his friend must've been going through.

"Vetrix..." Hart began. He was going to put his hand on his shoulder, attempt to calm him down, but he'd already slid back down the tree trunk and walked out to shore. The blue-haired boy followed him, knocking a coconut from the tree with him. Hart could feel tears welling up in his own eyes as he watched Vetrix fall to his knees and sob.

_Poor Vetrix..._ thought Shark. The purplette wasn't sure what to do. _If I just coulda been a little faster, then maybe he'd still have at least one son._ Shark just watched as Hart rubbed Vetrix's back and knelt down beside him. Though he didn't have a great idea of the amount of pain Vetrix was feeling, Hart guessed it was a lot. He had never seen the blond cry before, mainly because he thought he wasn't capable of it.

"I thought... I thought I'd been through enough after Quattro and Quinton died..." Vetrix spoke in between sniffling. "But now that I've lost Trey too... I don't know how I could bare to live."

"Don't say things like that." Hart whispered. Vetrix refused to turn and make eye contact with him. "I know what you're going through is painful. Trust me, I do. But I don't think you should just give up."

"It's too late for that, Hart." Vetrix just allowed the tears to fall, dampening the sand that had dried in that short amount of time.

"You know Trey wouldn't want you to give up."

"I know..."

"So why are you?"

"...I have no reason to go on anymore, Hart."

Hart frowned. "Vetrix, what do you think your sons would say if they saw you like this? They'd be disappointed in you, and they would want you to keep trying!" The blue-haired boy stood and held out his hand, Vetrix watching closely. "If you wanna get revenge on Noah, you can start by getting up and helping us find that green-haired freak!"

Vetrix hesitated at first. Finally, he made direct eye contact with Hart and took his hand, standing up. "Alright. I'll try. For Trey, and Quattro and Quinton too." he said, golden eye meeting amber ones.

"That's what I like to hear." Hart said, detaching his hand from his friend's and turning to Shark.

"I guess we should go look for shelter." Shark said. He turned and walked away, Vetrix and Hart right behind. Vetrix took one last look at the ocean before continuing with them, making a threatening promise in his head.

_Mark my words, Noah Kaiba. I will avenge my sons. I will get revenge on you. __**Mark my words**__._

I apologize for this being such a short chapter, but I wasn't sure where to go after the last part. Besides, I needed a cliff hanger, a way to end the 3 part chapter thing, so I stopped it here, but I promise the next chapter will be WAY longer. Anyway, please don't forget to review, forgive the shortness and await chapter 9!


	9. Chapter 9: The Plan in Motion

Nuisance Unexpected

"Ahh!" Yuma yelled, toppling back against the bottom of the cage once again. It was the 6th time he'd tried to break himself free from his cage. It was also the 6th time he'd been able to activate the electrified bars and get shocked by them.

"Yuma, give it up." Kite said, rolling his eyes. "It's not gonna work and you know it."

Yuma glared at Kite. "I have to keep trying, Kite! We gotta get out of these cages!" he retorted. The pink and black-haired boy jumped up and shook the cage bars again, but flew back and hit the ground with a _thud._

Seto scowled. "Stop it, kid." he hissed. "Even if you were to free yourself, there'd be no where to go. You'd just fall into the lava." This gained Yuma's attention. He glanced down and sighed, plopping to the ground.

"...Okay. I never thought of that." Yuma moaned and lay down. He was out of ideas, and so were Kite and Seto.

"Well, that's it." Kite said. "We're doomed."

Meanwhile...

Mokuba was stunned. He had hit the button that brought fourth Big Jaws. Said button had also ended Trey's life. The raven-haired boy felt a wave of guilt and disgust flood over him as he stared at the screen. Noah smirked.

"Wow, Mokie! I'm impressed with you! Honestly, I didn't think you had the guts to do it. I'm even more impressed because another team member was taken down in the process!" Noah exclaimed, patting Mokuba on the back rather roughly. Mokuba forced a smile and looked down.

"Uh... thanks, Noah." Mokuba said. Noah raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Mokie? You look sad. What's wrong?" the green-haired Kaiba asked. Mokuba hesitated, then whispered his answer slowly.

"It's just... I had hoped nothing this terrible would happen, that's all." Noah sighed and grabbed his stepbrother's shoulders, kneeling to his level.

"Oh, Mokie. I know you feel bad now, but don't worry. It'll stop after a few more things like this. And when it does, you'll _really_ enjoy helping me out!" Noah said with a smirk. Mokuba forced another smile and nodded.

Elsewhere on the island...

Shark lay in the sand, eyes closed and arms folded behind his head. He was shirtless, half asleep and trying to work on his tan. Hart and Vetrix had tried to tell him that he shouldn't be worrying about that now, but he had had a good point.

5 minutes ago...

_ "It's so hot out here. I wanna find some more shade." Hart whined, looking around. None of the bushes were tall enough to even lay and enjoy, and there were no trees. Vetrix moaned and shook himself off. They'd been traveling for hours and were still soaked._

_ "We're a long, long way from shade, kid." Shark said. "I'm taking advantage of this time and working on my tan."_

_ Vetrix glared at the purplette. "This is no time to be lounging around! We gotta take Noah down!" he yelled._

_ "We aren't in a rush." Shark retorted, slipping his jacket and shirt off._

_ "But we shouldn't stop!"_

_ "Look, Noah takes his time torturing us. Let's just take it easy for a while and take our time finding him. It can be even that way." Hart and Vetrix thought for a moment, then just plopped into the sand. Shark folded his shirt and jacket into a pillow and lay his head on it, closing his eyes as he did. Hart and Vetrix copied his last motion and soon fell asleep._

Shark finally opened his eyes and looked to his left. Hart and Vetrix were still fast asleep. The purple-haired boy sighed and rolled onto his stomach and made a soft growling noise in his throat. He loved the sun and all, but this was just a bit _too much_. Finally, Shark got up and slid his shirt back on, but tied his jacket around his waist. Hart stirred and woke up with a moan, then sat up and shook Vetrix awake.

"Meh... Wha? Oh... What time is it?" Vetrix asked, sitting up and shaking his head vigorously.

"I might be able to tell you if we were near a hotel or something." Hart said. Vetrix groaned and stood with the blue-haired boy, staring at Shark. He looked so different without his jacket. The purplette began walking up-hill, the blond and the blue-haired boy following right after him. They kept walking until Shark tripped over a rock.

"Damn it... that hurt." He stood and brushed himself off, then stared at the cave in front of him. "Oh guys! I think I found our shelter!" Shark called.

"Alright!" Vetrix said, running up the hill.

"Awesome!" Hart ran right behind him. The entered the cave and lay down, ready to go to sleep again. All three of them soon did just that.

Little did they know Noah was ready to pounce upon them and put his plan into full motion.


	10. Chapter 10: New Intern, new Master Plan

Nuisance Unexpected

Mokuba sat in Noah's chair, spinning around in a circle. His stepbrother had teleported out of his little room to do something he had said was extremely important, and had _strongly_ emphasized important when he'd spoken. That just left Mokuba alone.

So he decided to spin around in the chair. It wasn't like Noah was around to tell him otherwise.

"Man, what could Noah _possibly _be doing right now? He's been gone for three hours!" Mokuba spoke to himself. He'd been spinning for those three hours straight without a rest. The raven-haired boy was becoming dizzy.

Suddenly, a portal opened, and Noah stepped out of it and onto his balcony. Mokuba was spinning too quickly to notice.

"Tch. Mokie, what have I told you about spinning in my chair? Noah asked. He leaped down from the balcony and grabbed the chair arm. It stopped so suddenly Mokuba nearly barfed. He became even dizzier and fell right back into the chair when he tried to stand.

"Ugh... so dizzy..." Mokuba moaned. Noah shook his head and chuckled. "Mokie, you are adorable when dizzy." The green-haired Kaiba helped Mokuba to stand, then took his seat and set his stepbrother on his lap.

"Well, I got the important errand done. That's all that matters." Noah smiled as Mokuba looked down. He wondered what had been so important, and that prompted him to ask.

"Noah? What _exactly _were you doing that was so important?" Mokuba asked. Noah simply chuckled.

"A few things, actually Mokie. I ran off some copies of those codes for the Digital World, duplicated the keys for those cages, all five of them, and hired someone to come and help out here. We can't do it all by ourselves!"

Mokuba looked up and made direct eye contact with his stepbrother. "So, there's gonna be a third person here?"

"Correct."

"And what do you mean by five keys? There's only three cages."

"Soon there won't be. I'm gonna lock Shark and Vetrix up to just leave Hart. Kid will either fend for himself or die, I couldn't care less." Mokuba flinched as he heard that.

"And, the codes are duplicated, too?"

"They sure are. That stack of papers contains them all. Whenever you feel like torturing them, feel free to do so with them. In case something bad is to happen, however, I also have the proper shutdown codes on the bottom. You are not to use them unless it's an emergency, understand?" Noah asked. Mokuba nodded and forced a mischievous smile, gaining even more trust from the green-haired Kaiba. He lifted Mokuba off of him and stood up, walking towards the stack of papers. "Here, take 'em. They're for you, after all." Noah handed the thick stack to Mokuba, who glanced down at them with a smile.

"Wow. They look really easy to type and stuff." Mokuba beamed, and was not acting in that time.

"I made them that way because I had a hunch you'd join my side. Though you're great with computers, they'd be a bit more... uh, intelligent I guess? Yeah, a bit more intelligent for you." Noah patted his raven-haired stepbrother's head and walked up the steps that led to the balcony, ready to go through another portal.

"Wait, where are you going?" Mokuba asked.

"Out." Noah replied. "I'll just be a little while. Do what you want with those torture codes, okay?" Mokuba nodded as he watched Noah leave. When he was sure he was gone, he began gently looking for the shutdown codes. He wasn't aware of the brunette boy behind him.

"Alright, let's see... AHAH! Here they are! The codes that not only shut down Noah's world, but free everyone from the cages in the process! Perfect!" Mokuba ran right up to the computer and began typing away on it. He wasn't going to activate them when he got them in, however, mainly because Noah wouldn't be gone long enough for him to do so.

A shadow crept over Mokuba. When he noticed, he shrieked and whirled around in belief it was Noah. When he saw a brunette instead, he instantly calmed down.

"Hi. You must be the one Noah hired." Mokuba said. The boy nodded.

"I'm Chip. But, I'm like you, Mokuba. I just wanna get those poor people freed from the cages and stuff. Noah lost forty-five bucks to me for this!" Chip laughed with Mokuba. Noah had payed forty-five dollars to someone he thought would _help_ him, and instead got someone who was the complete opposite!

"If you wanna help, keep an eye out for Noah. Tell me if he's coming." Mokuba instructed, not bothering to look up from the screen. Chip put and arm in a solute.

"Will do." He said, and began looking out for the green-haired Kaiba.

Meanwhile...

Shark rolled over slowly. He was in between a deep sleep and being half awake, and his aching body couldn't decide which one to go with. Finally, he opened his ocean blue eyes and sat up. The cave was a nice seventy degree-ish temperature, making it a nice place to rest. He looked around for Hart and Vetrix. Hart was playing with a crab, but Vetrix was no where in sight.

"Where's Vetrix?" Shark asked, standing and walking over to where Hart sat.

"What? Oh, I think he said something about the ocean before he left? I dunno, you may wanna check outside." Hart said, not taking his eyes off the crab in front of him. He let it grab the stick in his hands, then yanked it away and repeated his actions. Shark rolled his eyes but left the cave as the blue-haired boy had suggested, leaving him alone with the crab.

"Vetrix? You out here?" Shark called, looking for any sign of the blond. He wasn't in the mood for hiking down the hill to the ocean when he spotted him there, but knew he had to. The purplette slid down and soon joined Vetrix at the ocean shore.

"What're you doing out here?" Shark asked. Vetrix didn't respond at first, but soon whispered an answer.

"Just re-living the tragedy that was Trey's death..." Vetrix continued to stare at the shimmering water as Shark frowned. It didn't take the blond very long to burst into tears. Shark went from frowning to sighing in sorrow. He may not have gotten along with Trey well, but he sure never wanted him to die, especially like that. The purple-haired boy knealed down to Vetrix's level and pulled him into a hug, something that came from Shark very rarely. Vetrix was motionless.

"I wish you would stop thinking about that." Shark said.

"T-That's hard to d-do." Vetrix stammered.

"I know, but when you can, you might have some closure."

"You're r-right, I know. B-But I c-c-can't stop! After Quattro and Q-Quinton and now Trey, I can't stop t-thinking about it!"

"Well, you aren't trying. Clear your mind and focus on anything else." Shark stood and made eye contact with Vetrix. The blond glanced down before closing his eye and focusing, just as Shark had said to do. When he looked back up at Shark, a small smile played on his face.

"It... it worked. I can't even remember why I was crying." Vetrix shook his head and smiled. Shark smiled back.

"I knew it would work." The purple-haired boy motioned with his hand, and he and Vetrix began walking up the hill again. They got about half-way before a portal opened in front of them, one Shark knew all to well. He glared and pulled out his pistol, just now remembering he had it, as Noah stepped out of the portal.

"That gun is useless, Reginald." Noah hissed, glaring and smirking all at the same time.

"Don't call me that! And move out of the way before I shoot this! You know I will, so take your opportunity and move!" Shark yelled, clutching the pistol tighter in his hands. Noah just simply laughed.

"I told you, it's useless." Noah snapped his fingers. Two beams swooped down and captured Shark and Vetrix, then disappeared all together. Noah backed up into his portal, clapping his hands slowly as he did.

"Now I can really get started." He whispered, vanishing into the portal.

Alright, you guys better get used to having Chip around. He plays an important part, and goldninjateenboy helped me to think of him. Anyway, please don't forget to review and await chapter eleven.


	11. Chapter 11: Three Un-Seen Helpers

Nuisance Unexpected

Mokuba sat in the chair, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed in the shutdown codes for Noah's Digital World. Chip was behind him, keeping an eye out in case Noah came back. His silver eyes were peeking through his brunette bangs, which curved up in a c-shape to the right of his head. Chip's bright yellow shirt looked neon in the dim lights of the computer screens as it hovered over his maroon pants. His white shoes were stained with blue paint, which Mokuba had questioned earlier. He never did get his answer.

"Any sign of Noah, Chip?" Mokuba asked, not bothering to take his eyes off the screen.

"Not yet." Chip replied, continuing to stare at the door. Noah had been gone for three more hours. Mokuba was not surprised when he found out Shark and Vetrix had been captured by him. It made sense why he was gone so long. The raven-haired Kaiba continued to work in attempt to take his mind off of it. Slowly, it began working.

And it stopped working when Chip let out a sudden shriek, that of which gave Mokuba the hint that Noah was back. He quickly minimized the file and hid it away in a folder that was jam-packed with codes. Noah would have a hard time finding it. As his green-haired stepbrother walked in, he was instantly curious of what they had been doing while he was gone. Chip had sat on the floor with a book to look natural, and Mokuba continued typing at something totally unrelated to what he had been doing earlier. They were lucky that the charade worked.

"Ah, attempting at some of those torture codes, were we Mokie?" Noah asked, smiling brightly. Mokuba turned and nodded.

"Yeah, I was. I stopped after Shark and Vetrix were captured, though. Didn't think it'd be that much fun." Mokuba faked a smile and looked down at Chip, who acted as if he were deeply engrossed in his book.

"Makes perfect sense. And, what has Chip been up to?" Chip glanced up at Noah before continuing to "read" in the book.

"Just reading. And watching Mokuba work." Chip said. Noah nodded.

"I see. Now, what was that scream I heard moments before I walked in?" The green-haired Kaiba looked at both boys. Neither of them had an idea of what to say. They had hoped Noah wouldn't ask about that. Finally, Chip came up with the perfect excuse.

"Sorry, that was me. The book I'm reading is really scary." The brunette intern lied and continued to read, then let out another small shriek to show it was "true". Noah seemed to buy it as he watched his captives on screen. He was ready to put his plan into motion.

"Understandable. As much as I would love for you to keep doing whatever Mokie, I think you should get out of the chair." Noah instructed. The younger slid from the chair and watched the elder work. Mokuba was curious. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Noah was silent for a moment. "I need to freak out my captives. Get ready, because I'm gonna drop them."

Mokuba's eyes widened and his heart began to race. "What do you mean drop them?"

"Oh, relax Mokie. They aren't going to hit the lava." Noah said. Mokuba instantly calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief. He soon regretted it after hearing what his stepbrother said next.

"Yet." The green-haired boy began typing away at the keyboard. Mokuba and Chip watched the screen with everyone in the cages intently. Soon, they began to lower. They were doing so slowly, but in a period of hours they'd be burnt to a crisp. And soon, a bright pink light began to glow just outside the door. Mokuba and Chip turned their attention to the screen with Hart on it. Noah had tapped into his powers. As long as Hart was actively using his powers, the captives would keep dropping. Mokuba's heart fell. He couldn't believe this was really going to be the end of his brother and friends.

"Alright, that takes care of that. Mokie, come with me. I want you to see your brother and friends one last time. You can help me taunt them." Noah motioned with his hand and stood. Mokuba hesitated, then followed through a portal. Right before he left, he gave Chip a look. It said, _Free them. Start re-working on the shutdown codes. You are their last hope_.

The portal closed. Chip took the unspoken advice of Mokuba and sat in the chair, working on the codes. He had started to work on the one before, then noticed one of the papers from the stack of codes that lay on the floor. It was a "spell code" that could bring someone back to the field for extra torture. The intern wasn't going to use it for that, though. He was solely going to use it to bring one of the fallen team members back.

So he split the panel and worked on both codes simultaneously. Chip's left hand worked on the shutdown codes, while his right one worked on the resurrection codes, as he liked to call them. Once the shutdown codes were finished, he simply hit the enter button on the keyboard. Both codes were put into play. The resurrection codes worked much faster, and were finished in about five minutes. Trey Arclight was going to be back in the game. The shutdown codes, however, would be done in a period of hours. It was slowly eating away at Noah's Digital World. Making it slowly fall, saving everyone in the process. Hart's powers began to slowly drop, but as long as they were active whatsoever, the cages would continue to drop. It would all stop when the last hour was in play.

"My work here is done." Chip picked up his book and left through the door. He had a plan in mind. He knew if he could get Hart to empty his mind, the power would stop flowing.

The cages would stop falling.

Meanwhile...

"What's going on? Why are the cages lowering?" Yuma was having a minor panic attack, running in squares as the cages began to lower. Vetrix shook the bars of his cage in attempt to escape, but failed. His bars weren't shock loaded, he just didn't have the strength to break them. Shark had bent one of his, but stopped when he felt movement to the cages.

"Noah set this in motion!" Kite had instantly stood up and looked down in terror. Even Seto, who very rarely showed his emotions, had a look of horror on his face as the cages they were standing in slowly inched their way down towards the lava. Noah soon entered the room with Mokuba, both idly staring at the captives. When Seto saw Noah, he made a strange growling sound in his throat and glared.

"Enjoying your final hours on Earth?" Noah asked, a smirk playing on his face. "Don't worry, it'll be over in a long period of torture. Try not to get too hot while we see how Hart is doing." This gained Kite's attention. He hadn't noticed until now that his little brother was missing from the caged group. The teal and blond-haired scowled as he asked in an angered tone, "What did you do with my little brother? You maniac!" It simply gained a chuckle from the green-haired boy.

"Currently his power is being used to generate the force pulling you all down. I have no use for him otherwise, just as I have no use for your Number Cards anymore." Noah explained. Kite clenched his teeth and growled. Noah smiled. He enjoyed seeing them angry.

"Leave Hart out of this!" Yuma yelled.

"Don't butt in, Yuma." Mokuba said. Everyone widened their eyes. They couldn't believe what Mokuba had just said, not even Noah could. With that, the two stepbrothers walked off.

Somewhere near the island...

Trey opened his emerald eyes slowly. He was wet and cold, not a good combination. The pinkette sat up and looked around. The chamber, he guessed, was filled with dark, yellow and blue crystals that were glowing slightly. Trey stood and walked to the bank of water across him.

"Do not be afraid." A voice said. It echoed from the walls, then bounced back into Trey's ears.

"Huh?" Trey asked, startled.

"We're not going to hurt you. We'd like to help you." A second voice spoke with a more rowdy tone.

"I... I don't understand..." Trey sat back in the sand. Those two voices sounded familiar. He just couldn't point out where.

The first voice spoke again. As it did, the blue crystals glowed a little brighter. "It's okay to be afraid, Trey. We know you have many reasons to be." The same crystals went back down to their mild glow. Trey was confused.

"I still don't understand. How did I get here? What is this place? How do I get back?" This time, the yellow crystals lit up.

"We'll take you. Trust us, you'll be fine."

"Who are you guys? If I've learned one thing, it's that I can't trust anything or anyone I don't know here! That's how it's been since I first arrived."

"But, you can trust us." The blue crystals lit up momentarily. Finally, each crystal burned out, temporarily leaving Trey in complete and total darkness. He shivered and looked up at the ceiling. A red glow was emitting from it.

"Follow the crystals." The voice of the yellow crystals instructed. Trey nodded and began walking uphill. The crystals wound in a half circle, then up one more hill before right to a rock. Trey glared and sighed. "How am I supposed to get around that?" he asked.

"We got it." The blue crystals voice said. The rock glowed green, then shattered. Trey's eyes widened as he stepped out of the cave. He wasn't sure how to say thank you, but he was certain the voices knew he wanted to. He walked forward a few paces before seeing a brunette with Hart, attempting to calm him down. Trey gasped and ran over.

"You must be Trey." the brunette said. Trey nodded. "I'm Chip. Don't worry, I'm on your side. Please, help me calm Hart down. His powers are being used to lower everyone's cages into the lava."

"Okay." Trey lifted Hart and stroked his blue hair. He was almost completely calm, but even if one ounce of his powers were active, the cages would continue to drop. Finally, the amber-eyed boy stopped trembling and fell to sleep in Trey's arms. The brunette and pinkette smiled and looked at each other. They didn't have to speak to know what was on the others mind.

As soon as Hart was up, they were gonna pound Noah.


	12. Chapter 12: Noah's Digital World Falls

Nuisance Unexpected

Hello everyone who is still reading up to this point. I regret to inform you that this is the final chapter. It is extremely long, but 100% worth reading. Uh... please don't forget to review, and wait for more stories to pop up later!

PS, I'm going to begin working on the sequel to "Shark's Insanity", but since I have school starting on August 2nd, don't be expecting so much from me at that time.

His amber eyes fluttered open. At first, the blue-haired boy wasn't sure where he was. At the sudden sight of brightness, he shut his eyes and moaned, then reopened them slowly. They made direct contact with Trey's emerald ones as he smiled. He smiled back weakly, then shifted a bit in the pinkette's arms.

"Wha... what happened?" Hart asked.

"Noah forced you to use your powers and lower those cages closer to the lava. Don't worry, though. As soon as you fell asleep, you emptied your mind and the cages stopped dead in their tracks." Trey informed. Hart blinked a few times, then smiled. It soon faded before he gasped and flung his arms around Trey.

"I thought you were dead! I saw you get thrown into the water!" The blue-haired boy had stray tears going down his cheeks and wetting the pink-haired male's shirt. Trey held him tightly and said, "I know. Chip brought me back."

Hart jolted up slightly. "Chip? Who's Chip? …. Him? That's Chip?" he asked, looking back at the brunette. Chip waved and smiled slightly. Hart smiled back and squirmed down a bit, then lay his head on Trey's chest. Trey blushed at first, then smiled and rubbed Hart's back. He was glad everyone was safe.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Hart asked, eyes shut and head unmoved.

"Whenever you feel like moving, we're gonna go find Noah and take him down!" Chip fist pumped and smirked. He was eager to go, but refused to move if Hart or Trey were in any pain. The brunette stood and stared at the blue-haired and pink-haired boys. Trey nodded. Hart, who had opened his eyes, did the same, leaped off of Trey and stood all the way up, ready to go. Trey stood as well. He put a hand to his hip in a sassy sort of way Hart had never seen and said, "Let's go find Noah and kick his butt."

"Right!" Chip took the lead and ran a little farther into the cave, then opened the door in front of them, thankful no one else was in there. He was on the lucky side today. The trio walked in, staring at the computer screens. Only one was active, the one focused on the captives. Chip moved the mouse and checked the progress of the shutdown codes. In exactly thirty minutes, the whole place would crumble and free everyone.

"We have thirty minutes until this world vanishes and we become free." Chip informed the others. He began running out the door, the others following. They ran to the ocean bank, where the brunette bounded into the water. When Trey and Hart didn't follow, he turned and had a questioning look on his face. "Guys, what are you standing there for? We gotta go!"

"Chip, we aren't setting foot in that water." Trey said. Chip raised a brow. "I got thrust in there and nearly killed." That was when the brunette smiled, confusing Trey and Hart.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. You do trust me, don't you?"

They hesitated. Then they plunged in, swimming directly behind Chip. They hit the bottom in five seconds flat and stopped right in front of a cave entrance that pointed straight up. Trey cocked his head to the side. Hart raised and eyebrow. Chip's only response was him nearly _flying _into the cave entrance. The other two boys decided they didn't really have a choice and followed.

_I can't hold my breath much longer!_ Hart thought. Just as he thought he was going to choke and die right there, they submerged. Trey's eyes widened.

It was the chamber he'd woken up in! With all the crystals! The pinkette helped Hart out of the water and stared with a god-smacked look at the scenery. He couldn't believe Chip was just leading them in a circle.

"Wow..." Hart stepped forward and stared at the yellow and blue crystals, those of which were glowing softly in their color. He touched them. They felt warm. _Almost like a person_. he thought. Hart turned to Chip with a questioning look, still touching the crystals. "What is this place, Chip?"

With all he'd been through, Trey thought their new friend would turn on them and say something like, "Your doom." and leave them there to die. It blew him back when Chip said, "This is the Guidance Chamber of Crystals. It's said these crystals take fallen souls that were murdered and house them. Those souls help lost travelers so they don't end up dead." Trey was awe-struck.

"Doesn't that mean the souls are being held captive?" Hart asked.

"No, they are free to leave when they want. They can return, too. Pretty neat, huh?" Chip stared at Hart, who nodded and smiled. Trey hadn't spoken a word, concerning Chip. He frowned and asked, "Trey? Are you okay? You haven't seen anything since we got here."

"This... this was the chamber I woke up in. It led me out and directly to you and Hart." Chip's eyes widened. "It led you out? How? With voices, or, figures, or... what?" he asked.

"Voices."

"What kind of voices?"

"...Familiar ones. Two, to be exact. I know I've heard those voices somewhere. I _know_, I'm just not sure from where." Trey took a few steps forward, then touched one of the yellow crystals. It was then he heard its voice in his head.

_You're back? I thought we helped you._

"I...we... uh..." Trey couldn't think straight. Hart and Chip were staring.

"Who are you talking to?" Hart asked.

"The voice of the yellow crystals." Trey responded. Hart didn't seem surprised. He remembered Yuma had always talked to an invisible force. What was his name? Right, Astral. The blue-haired boy was used to this. Chip seemed the same way.

_I understand. You returned because you need help._

"I actually don't know why Chip brought us here."

_Hm. Well, we will help you guys. Touch the blue crystal to your left so you may hear both of us. _Trey did as he was told. He could soon hear the blue crystals' voice.

_I see you have returned?_

"Yes, I have. We need to defeat Noah... but first we need to get off this island. Maybe that's why Chip brought us here?"

_That would make sense. _It was the yellow crystals speaking now. _We can guide you wherever you need to go. Where is it you wish?_

It was a good question. Trey glanced down and thought hard, then shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. Wherever Noah Kaiba is, I guess.

_What a coincidence, Noah is the one who killed us. We can take you to the lava pit._ The area went pitch black. Hart let out a yelp, Chip gasped, and Trey simply looked up. The crystals on the ceiling began glowing a bright, neon orange. The voice of the blue crystals spoke before they both disappeared. _Follow the crystals._

"Guys, let's go." Trey began walking downhill. Hart, who was stunned, began chasing after the pinkette with Chip right behind.

"Trey, that was awesome! How'd you do it?" asked and eager Hart, who was pulling on Trey's sleeve lightly.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. The voices entered my head, had a conversation with me, lit these crystals, then left." Trey glanced down at the blue-haired boy next to him. His amber eyes were filled with curiosity and a hint of confusion.

"Those crystals are said to help lost souls. It has also been said that if the souls recognize a lost one, they can make an eternal link with their minds. They would have to be a close friend or a family member to do that, though." Chip said. Trey tried to fit the two voices to anyone in his family or one of his old friends that had long since died. He wasn't thinking clearly, so nothing would fit. Trey soon shook it off and continued walking.

The crystals wound down a steep hill. Hart had tripped several times before Chip carried him down the rest of the way. When they reached the end of the tunnel, a large rock was in the way, just as there had been when Trey was following the red crystals. Before Chip or Hart could ask, the rock began glowing orange, then shattered. Hart climbed off Chip and together the trio stepped out. Directly in front of them was the lava pit room, the first room the original captives had ended up in.

_This is it. It's almost over. We'll be free soon! _Chip thought, looking at his watch. Only fifteen minutes remained. They glanced up at the cages. None of the captives seemed to realize anyone was there, as they were either asleep or staring at the ceiling. (Yuma was knocked out from the electrified cage bars.) Only one, Kite, was actually looking around. It took the teal and blond to notice, but when he did, a large smile crossed his face.

"Hart! Trey! Up here!" The trio looked up at Kite. Hart smiled open-mouthed and threw his arms into the air.

"Brother! You aren't burned to a crisp!" Hart jumped up and down in joy. Kite looked down at Chip and Trey. "I see you brought friends. Who's the brunette?" he asked. Hart glanced back and smiled again.

"That's Chip. He's helped us get here." Hart explained. Kite nodded and looked up, then widened his eyes. When Hart noticed, he raised and eyebrow. "What is it, Kite?" the blue-haired boy asked. Kite simply pointed. The trio whirled around and gasped. There stood Noah and Mokuba. Mokuba was right behind Noah, who didn't look the slightest bit amused. The raven-haired boy's ees went wide when he saw Trey was alive.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? An intern, who I payed forty-five dollars to help me, and his friends who should be dead, attempting to free them?" Noah asked. Chip knew the charade was up. "I saw your little codes. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything to stop it from destroying my little world. But I don't care. You'll all be dead once I'm done with you." The green-haired boy made direct eye contact with Chip. "And I'll start with you."

"You have to catch me first!" Chip ran clear to the other side of the lava pit, Noah following right behind with a knife in his hand. The brunette glanced at his watch. Ten more minutes. That was all he needed. Chip ran up the side of the short pit. Trey thought for sure he'd fall in. His heart nearly stopped when his friend leaped onto Yuma's cage, and was thankful when the shock bars didn't activate on him.

_I hope this works_. Chip thought. The intern climbed on top of Yuma's cage and stood, watching Noah intently. Chip nearly lost his balance when the green-haired Kaiba leapt on the bars and began copying the previous actions made.

And that was when Chip went in motion. He bounded to the top of Shark's cage and stood, waiting for Noah to follow him. When his enemy gave into the chase, Chip went from cage to cage. He eventually stopped and stood right on Vetrix's cage, which was right in the middle of the pit of lava. The blond inside the cage was watching Noah from where he stood.

"You aren't going to get away that easily, Chip. I _always_ capture my prey." Noah hissed. Chip glared and looked at his watch. Five more minutes. He needed no more.

"Well, you know what Noah?" Chip began. "I don't care. You can't catch me." He darted backwards and onto Kite's cage, then stood there to see what Noah would do. He hadn't moved, so now Chip was safe. Noah's gray eyes were wide as he stared. Chip smirked. "It's a long jump. I wouldn't attempt it if I were you." Noah glared.

"I am going to tear you limb from limb!" The green-haired boy backed up a few paces, then ran and jumped clear over Vetrix's cage, but hit the top of Kite's and hung there, looking Chip right in the eye as he did.

"I told you not to attempt it." Chip mocked. Noah smirked. "Doesn't matter. Even if I fall, the shutdown codes will save me."

"You're wrong, Noah!" Mokuba yelled from across the room. "We used a special code that only saves those who are alive! If you fall, you won't come back!" Noah widened his eyes. Mokuba had been in on it the whole time. He should've known it was weird Mokuba _wanted_ to help him!

Noah's fingers slipped a bit. Chip didn't bother to move as the green-haired Kaiba lost his grip completely and tumbled into the lava. Mokuba smiled when he saw smoke rise from the pit. Trey breathed a sigh of relief as Chip safely jumped down from the cage and landed cleanly on the floor. Hart ran over and smiled up at the brunette.

"How much more time do we have before we're free?" Hart asked. Chip glanced at his watch. "One minute in counting." He replied.

"And, uh, where are we gonna end up?" Trey asked, joining the two of them. Everyone in the cages had awoken from the jumping and were watching closely.

"The outskirts of Domino City. Not too far from Domino, and only about five miles from Heartland. Within walking distance." Chip replied. He looked down at his watch again. Twenty-five more seconds...twenty...fifteen...ten...five...

The whole area was engulfed in light. Everyone shut their eyes. When they reopened them, they were standing in the grass. Real grass. Noah's Digital World had been destroyed successfully. Chip smiled when he saw Mokuba and Hart hug each other before the raven-haired boy left with Seto. That just left the Tenjo Brothers, the Arclights, Yuma, Shark and Chip.

"I can't believe we made it out of that alive!" Yuma said. Shark widened his eyes as he looked to the left. "They didn't." he said, pointing. Trey and Vetrix gasped and ran over, the others trailing right behind. There lay Quattro and Quinton's lifeless bodies.

"Whoa..." Hart whispered. He held Kite's arm and stared with his brother. The others were silent. Trey felt tears welling up in his eyes as he fell to his knees. Vetrix had a few in his eye, but his body refused to allow him to fall like that. Instead, he put a hand on his only son's shoulder and just kept it there. Trey didn't even bother to try to whack it off, nor did he make any sounds. He just allowed the tears to fall.

Suddenly, Trey's eyes widened. The blue crystal voice was speaking to him again.

_Don't be so upset, Trey. We're right here._

"W-What do you mean?"

_Just watch._ The yellow voice instructed. Quattro and Quinton's bodies began to glow in the colors of the crystals. Their bodies disappeared, and in their place stood two figures. Vetrix and Trey gasped and stared as they took the shape of Quattro and Quinton. And it was then Trey could point where he'd known those voices in the chamber from. He felt dumb not being able to recognize his own brothers' voices.

"See? I told you we are right here." Quattro said. Trey and Vetrix knew they would only be able to see them for a short amount of time. At first, the youngest hesitated. Then, he rushed right up to the glowing figures and hugged them both. Vetrix followed and did the same.

"I wish you didn't have to go." Trey whispered.

"We know." Quinton spoke slowly. "We feel the same way, which is why we do this." They glowed once again. Trey shut his eyes. Vetrix looked away. When they looked back, a pair of crystals were floating there, one yellow, one blue. Trey instantly grabbed the yellow one, and Vetrix hesitantly took the blue one. Both of them smiled and turned back to the others.

Trey glanced at the yellow crystal in his hands. He then looked back up and said, "Let's go home." The six others agreed and together, all seven began walking home, back to where life was normal.

To where life was not digital.

**END**


End file.
